What is "Subito Piano"?

Hi, I'm Robert Estrin. Welcome to virtualsheetmusic.com. Today's subject is The Importance of Subito Piano in the Playing of Beethoven. That's right, subito piano. What is subito piano, and why is this so important in playing Beethoven? Subito piano means "suddenly soft". Subito means "suddenly" and this the trademark of Beethoven's writing. A lot of times, you'll see a crescendo going to piano, which seems counter-intuitive. You expect a crescendo getting louder and louder to end up forte, loud, but no. With Beethoven, a lot of times he surprises you, and a crescendo leads to a piano. Now, a lot of people see that and they think, "Oh, well. Let's kind of smooth it over. He doesn't really mean that, does he?" Well, absolutely he does, and in his music, if you make that sudden change after getting louder, it's extremely effective.

There are so many examples of this. I'm going to call to your attention a piece that you're all familiar with, the first movement of the famous "Moonlight Sonata", and there are a couple of examples in the first movement, where, indeed, there is a crescendo to a piano. And listen how effective this is. It really creates quite a mood and an intensity. If I were to play it and kind of gloss over that subito piano, kind of ignore it, and say, "Well, he didn't really mean it", you'd end up with this. It's very milktosed, isn't it? It doesn't have that same energy. Listen to it the right way again, make it to the crescendo, and suddenly get soft on the piano. It has a real attractive quality to it, doesn't it?

Here's another example a little bit later in the first movement of the "Moonlight". Did you hear that? Here, I'll do it without the subito piano, so you can hear the difference. It doesn't capture attention the same way, does it? Listen to it correctly again, with the crescendo to the subito piano, and notice the difference of the emotion it creates. So this is a lesson, not just in the "Moonlight Sonata", but in countless works of Beethoven. Don't be afraid to be a little bit more angular in Beethoven than you might be in Mozart or Haydn. It's one of the things that separates Beethoven's music from earlier composers, that edge, that surprise element. Try it in your Beethoven playing, and see how you like it.

Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Robert Estrin here at virtualsheetmusic.com. I look forward to seeing you next time.

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